Special Services
The Special Services Department is available to connect students requiring special services with educational opportunities to help them reach their goals.
The Independence School District believes that all students can learn and strives to create environments where students thrive. Special education is heavily regulated and students must meet federal and Missouri state criteria and demonstrate the need for specialized services to be eligible. If all of the requirements are met, the team may move forward with development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Qualifying students are provided Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Services are available to students with:
- Intellectual disabilities
- Young child with a developmental delay
- Visual impairment/blindness
- Multiple disabilities
- Specific learning disabilities
- Emotional disturbance
- Speech and language impairment
- Traumatic brain injury
- Autism
- Orthopedic impairment
- Hearing impairment/deafness
- Other health impairments
If your student was in grades 3–8 or grade 11 during the 2025–2026 school year, they may have participated in the Missouri Assessment Program–Alternate (MAP-A). These assessments help evaluate student learning, guide instructional decisions, and provide valuable data to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and our community stakeholders.
Your student's 2025–2026 MAP-A results will be available during fall Parent-Teacher Conferences. If you would like to access your student's scores before that time, or if your student has graduated, please contact the Special Services Office beginning the week of July 30 at (816) 521- 5300.
If you are unsure whether your student participated in the MAP-A, please review the State Assessments section of your student's current IEP. All other testing information will be available at your student's building.
